As the debate continues to rage as to where the presumed remains of the Plantagenet king Richard III should finally rest, one pro-Ricardian group is launching a petition promoting Yorkshire as the prime burial candidacy.

The ‘Richard III: Come Home to York’ online petition advocates a re-internment in York for the king.

The site, launched by the Richard III Foundation, has already received supportive comments from across the globe and Yorkshire folk are being urged to support the cause.

The discovery of the remains of a skeleton by archaeologists in a Leicestershire car park just weeks ago, has sparked fevered speculation in the media as to whether the bones could well be those of Richard III, who was hacked down at the Battle of Bosworth Field by a victorious Tudor army.

Mitochondrial DNA tests are set to be carried out on the remains, which, through comparison with a living descendant, could, some believe, give a link back to the medieval monarch.

Support for a York burial has already been voiced on the site by citizens ranging from Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and from across the USA, as well as the UK.

One British expat commenting on the site, from Maine, in the US says:

“I’m British, an historian, and ardent supporter of Richard III. King Richard had his reputation destroyed, and was vilified for more than five centuries as a murderer and usurper. His heart lay in his beloved Yorkshire, and it is fitting that after all he was denied following his untimely death at Bosworth, that he should now be laid to rest in that part of England he loved above all others. He despised London, and Leicester was the scene of his brutal death, why should he be associated now with either place? Place him in York, where he himself hoped to be laid to rest.”

The Richard III Foundation, Inc. is calling for the ‘remains’ of King Richard III to be brought home to York and interred at York Minster.

Joe Ann Ricca, CEO and founder of the RIII Foundation, speaking from the US, says:

“The Richard III Foundation urges the people of Yorkshire to join with us in calling for Richard, our hero and martyr, to be brought home to the city that he loved, and where he is still loved to this day.”

“Richard, who was the last Plantagenet king, and the last English monarch to die in battle, had strong connections with the City of York and the County of Yorkshire.

“He spent much of his youth at Middleham Castle and for 12 years he ruled the North of England on behalf of his elder brother, King Edward IV, earning a widespread reputation for fair-mindedness and justice. After becoming king, he visited York several times and was showered with gifts each time. His son, Edward, was crowned Prince of Wales whilst in York.

“If people are in agreement with us, we ask that they sign this petition and pass it onto others so we may hope to achieve this goal.”

Andy Smith, UK Public Relations Director, for the organisation, adds: “York was Richard’s city. It is where he belongs, and it is only right that this great Lord of the North should return home to Yorkshire after more than five hundred years’ enforced absence.”

The results of the DNA tests are expected during December at the earliest.

Ricardians say Richard disliked London and preferred Middleham and Yorkshire, hence arguments in favour of a Yorkshire burial.